Saints Row: Loss and Love in Space
by A Silent Conversation
Summary: The Saints, seemingly immortal, begin to fall, until only two remain. Relationships are explored, hearts broken, tears shed, love found.
1. Stilwater

**Hey everybody. I'm a new fic writer, so if I'm breaking any of the rules, please please please let me know.**

 **Also, I don't or never will own** _ **any**_ **of the Saints Row characters, as they're property of Deep Silver and Volition games.**

 **The current plan is to kill of a character per chapter until two characters are left, and in this chapter, of Johnny, Shaundi, and The Boss, Johnny dies first.**

 **With that out of the way, this is a hurt/comfort deathfic, so, obviously, violence ahead.**

 **Saints Row 4 spoilers ahead. Hope you enjoy!**

Gat died first.

After they claimed the Zin Empire for themselves, the Saints, with the help of Zinjai, time-traveled back to Earth; to Stilwater. It was an exciting prospect for the Saints, for the boss especially. He was back home, where he'd killed his first cat, fucked his first prostitute…where he'd met Johnny Gat.

What Zinjai failed to tell them, was that they'd be traveling back to 2007, when the Vice Kings still ran the streets. There'd been problems, naturally, but nothing that hadn't been handled with ease in the past.

This time was different.

"For fucks sake, Johnny, do you have to bring that _everywhere_ we go?" Shaundi was complaining once again as Gat had brought his favorite knife – a sword, more fittingly. The monster was four feet long, serrated, and had the handle of a knife, though further similarities ended there. "You know me Shaundi, always gotta show off." He smirked as he, Shaundi and the Boss dodged more incoming fire from the VK's. They'd taken shelter behind a VK truck, the banana yellow vehicle providing minimum cover for the trio.

The boss chided the two, his face masked with determination. He had to brush more silver hair from his face, piercing green eyes analyzing their situation. "Shut the fuck up kids. Daddy's at work, and he's kicking ass!" The muscle bound caucasian man popped up from cover to fire his beloved Krukov Assault Rifle at the incoming VK's, more than half falling to the hail of alloy. Blood painted not only the streets, but the trio of Saints as well. All of them had taken some form of injury, but Johnny seemed to have it the least. That is, until, things went to shit.

The Bosses gun clicked dry, cursing the lack of ammo. They'd only brought fifty clips per, and that should have been more than enough. Had the VK's not recruited.

Movement flashed in the corner of his eye, and he hurled his remaining grenade in the general direction of a flanking squad of Vice Kings. The attackers scrambled away from the shrapnel, and Johnny took the moment of confusion to fire his Krukov at the group, trademark smile on his face. Until a bullet entered his temple and exited the opposing side. 

Sound left their world, the dull echoes and thuds distant background noise. It didn't seem real, neither to Shaundi or the Boss, as the wet, sickening thud of brain matter and skull would forever ring in their ears. It didn't seem real as Johnny's body fell, seemingly in slow motion, to the bloodied pavement. It didn't seem real as his glasses skidded off, cracked and dirty. The pool of blood could have easily been ketchup, or red juice. It seemed impossible, unreal, until Shaundi's scream broke the muffle over his ears. "JOHNNY!" Forgoing her cover, she rushed to her friends' fallen body on all fours, sobs wracking her body. The Boss, sad and pissed as he was, picked up Johnny's gun, which had fallen by his feet, and went out as well, providing cover for himself and Shaundi. He didn't know if he could get through to her, but he needed to try.

"Shaundi!" He popped a VK who was trying to flank them. "Shaundi!" An explosion as a bullet-riddled car detonated, taking five Vice Kings with it. Shaundi was still crying over Johnny, and the Boss wanted to cry too, but they had bigger problems. Another set of VK vehicles had pulled up, fresh Vice Kings eager to score a kill. "Shaundi! We gotta fucking move or we're dead too!" Cursing under his breath, he forced Shaundi to her feet, forced his Magnum into her hands, and shoved her along the road, taking cover behind a burned out brownstone. It wasn't optimal cover, but The Boss stopped for a half-second to pick up Johnny's signature sunglasses…it was the only thing he had time to take before they would have been swarmed.

As it were, they were still likely to be swamped in a matter of seconds, and they needed to get out of there. The Boss pulled his phone from his pocket, quickly swiping through his contacts to find the one he needed. Even as he worked, he could hear the commanding shouts of Tanya, ordering her soldiers to move up and flank the two Saints, and 'to bring her their heads.' His thumb tapped the screen, the ratcheting of assault rifle bolts hastening his process. Shaundi would be of no help, but it didn't matter; he found the right contact. Tapping twice, Zinjai picked up on the first ring. "Yes, your Excellency?" The calm demeanor pissed him off. "Get us the fuck outta here, ZJ!"

"But why, your Excellency? Don't you like being home?"

"ZJ, we're getting shot at! Gat's dead and Shaundi's a wreck. Get us out of here, NOW!"

"Right away, your Excellency." 

The Boss felt strings pull at his being just as the VK's surrounded Shaundi and himself, and he would later state he felt the bullets pass _through_ him, the time/space particles pulling himself and Shaundi forward in time. They flew through space, watched history unfold through vivid images, sounds, smells. Almost like a tunnel until they manifested in the hold of _The_ _Gat,_ their captured Zin ship.

Around the teleportation deck stood eager faces, which quickly fell when they counted only two returning. Even further when they saw Shaundi's and the Bosses face. Shock. Just pure, unfiltered shock. Naturally, nobody spoke as Shaundi dry-heaved on the transport deck. They remained silent and unmoving until Kinzie moved, got under Shaundi, and helped walk her to the facilities, where the sounds of retching could be heard soon after.

"Boss?" It was Pierce. "Gat's dead?"

"Gat's dead." It was a final statement; Gat was dead.


	2. Shaundi

**Hello friends. Just a friendly warning from A Silent Conversation. This chapter features some heavy stuff, including hints of suicide. If any of these events are a trigger for you, please DO NOT read on. And please know that if you are ever having any trouble like this, just know that there is always somebody there for you.**

The immortal Gat was dead. It didn't seem real; didn't _feel_ real. But the empty bunk in the mens' quarters told a different story. The bed, always unmade, had been made by one of the women. Neither The Boss nor Pierce could bring themselves to do it. It hurt too much, but the Boss couldn't afford to be weak in the face of loss, he needed to remain strong in the face of adversity.

Which was one hell of a task. Keeping it together that is, and also keeping his Saints from going at each other's throats, which was getting progressively harder to do. It started small enough. Anger over a loss of a card game they'd been playing. Voices weren't raised, but tempers were high all around. It ended without incident.

Something bigger was brewing, though, which the awoke the Boss from the first nap he'd had in thirty hours, since staying up with Kinzie the night prior, his battlefield intelligence providing more data on the simulation; to see if there really was a way to bring it down. They'd gone to bed tired, and no further along than when they started.

An argument reached the Bosses ears in his quarters, the raised voices of the two women and the calm yet urgent tones of Pierce and Matt, both struggling to control their side. Groaning and casting a pillow over his head, Boss kicked himself out of the cot, the motion door kicking open at his presence. Out in the hall, the voices were even louder. "Fuck you, you…you brit whore! You never knew Johnny! What gives you the right-?!" "Rights, you smoked-out slut? What gives me the right is that you thought Johnny Gat was immortal; fucks sake, even Gat thought he was immortal. Your friend is dead because of his pri-!" Asha didn't get to finish before Shaundi tackled her to the ground, her fist seeking to draw blood.

"Shaundi!" The Boss caught the tail end of this conversation and her attack, and thanks to quick thinking, he yanked her up by her midsection, looping his arms around hers so she couldn't move to attack again. Matt did the same with Asha; both women were visibly upset, but the Boss felt Shaundi shaking. "Fuck you, Asha! Fuck you and…!" She suddenly stopped struggling against the Boss, her body going slack. Tears tracked down her face and sounded like gunshots in the stunned silence, the Bosses own face keeping any favoritism or emotion behind a steel mask he'd created over the years. "Johnny's dead, Asha…Johnny's…gone. So…don't you ever badmouth him again or I _will_ kill you…" It scared the Boss how broken Shaundi sounded; gone was the girl he'd met in Stilwater, gone was the badass street warrior. And in her place…stood a breaking china doll.

But the Boss needed to keep things going around here. "Asha, Shaundi. Both of you are going to apologize to the other when we're done here. I can't afford infighting among my Saints." His gaze went from Saints to Saint, his green eyes determined. "Look…" his voice, for the first time since everyone had known him, grew soft. "Johnny's death hit us all hard. But we need to keep moving forward. We need to find a new home, and I'd rather not spend the rest of my life on this ship." His voice returned to the steel command everyone was so familiar with. "Keith, Ben and Pierce, I need you three on strategy outlining. Give me battle plans, layouts, strategies. I don't care. Just do it." The three nodded at one another, and they left for the galley. "Matt and Asha. You two are on training. You're my best fighter, Asha, and you're my best analyst, Matt. You have the advantage of being a team before. Walk around the ship, give advice to anyone who's willing to listen." The MI6 partners nodded their assent, but Asha approached Shaundi, who surprised everyone by giving her a hug. "I…I'm sorry Shaundi…about Gat…everything." She left it at that, walking by and grabbing a stunned Matt by his shirt sleeve. The British hacker could be heard complaining as the door closed. "Why won't you ever hug me?" "Oh, man up, you baby."

That left CID, Kinzie, and Shaundi. "CID and Kinzie, work on deconstructing the simulation. I want to see that thing torn apart line by line; kill the AI in charge if you have to." CID started to object. "I fail to see why you'd destroy the only memory you have left of Earth." "Because, CID, I need all of our minds here, on this ship. Not in some maniacal alien overlords' fake world." He motioned to Kinzie, who grabbed CID by an antenna and dragged him towards the command center of the ship. "Come on, you bucket of bolts."

Only he and Shaundi remained now, her tears still visible on her face. "And you, Shaundi. I need you to talk to me."

"I don't want to talk about it, Boss."

"You don't have a choice. Something's up. You're going to tell me or we're going nowhere until you do."

"Boss, I don't-"

"Shaundi. What's wrong?" His voice had taken on that surprising soft tone again, and she collapsed into a nearby seat. He took a seat next to her, his hands resting on his lap.

"I miss Gat."

"We all do."

"Not like me."

"Shaundi…I know you loved him. Even he could see it." Her eyes widened.

"He…knew?" The Boss allowed himself a gentle laugh. "Well, it's not like you were hiding it very well."

Shaundis' eyes watered again, threatening to spill over into tears. "If…if he knew, why…why didn't he say anything?"

"Actually…" The Boss fished around his bag, successfully finding a tape recorder. "Gat, he uh…told me to play this after he died…" He trailed off, the death of his best friend starting to get to him.

Shaundi started crying, a shaking finger hitting the play button on the silver tape recorder resting on the table.

" _Hey Shaundi. If you're hearing this…well, that means I'm dead. Shoulda known it was gonna happen someday."_ His laughter broke into the recording, Shaundi's tears providing near-silent staccato on the pleather seats. " _Anyway, Shaundi…I know how you feel about me. You're not very good about hiding it. I…I uh…this is awkward…see, I'm kinda in love with someone else…you know how it is…"_ Silence as Gat cleared his throat. " _Sorry, Shaunds. Guess I'll see you in another life, eh?"_ A click signaled the end of the recording, the Boss pressing 'STOP' on the recorder.

Shaundi's tears didn't stop, but her voice remained even. "That's how it is, huh, Johnny? Well FUCK you too, you piece of shit!" She swatted at the device, which hit the deck with a resounding thud and crack as it broke apart. The Boss had her back in his grip again after her outburst.

"Let go of me, Boss!"

"No."

"Boss, let go of me!"

"No."

"Boss! Let me go!"

"No, Shaundi."

"Why not?!"

"Because you're hurting, Shaundi."

A softer, caring voice, so unlike the Boss. It made her eyes widen, then scrunch up with tears and days of pent up emotion. She turned so quickly that he didn't have time to react as she threw herself against him, her arms around him. Down they went, and after three seconds of stunned silence, he answered her hug with his own. Something he'd never be caught dead doing, but for the sake of his friend, he was willing to help. "I'm here for you, Shaundi. Always have been."

Which is why when he woke the next morning to screams, he panicked, rushing to the source – Kinzie. She had a hand over her mouth, a shocked look painting her features, a gaze which he followed. The rest who showed up had a sight – the boss, on his knees, sobbing, honestly and truly sobbing. He was weak, and showing it. Kinzie had retreated to the bathroom, her breakfast lost. Pierce peeked into the womens' quarters, and he too retreated to the bathroom, his food lost as well. For in the quarters, hanging like a sick puppet, skin pale and blood around her mouth, was Shaundi.


	3. Emotions

Shaundi's suicide rocked the crew harder than any gunshot, explosive, or shockwave could have. It was so unexpected; so brutally sudden that nobody had the proper time to even grieve Gat. Now they had two bodies on their hands, one of which they would never see again. Everybody was left to ponder their own standing in the universe; especially the boss. It was he who was hit the hardest by his two best friends' deaths. First Johnny, taken out by a stray bullet. He could accept that; everybody on board was living on borrowed time. But Shaundi…he could have saved Shaundi, had he had the time to recognize what was going on inside her head. It pained him to think that she was living with those dangerous thoughts, keeping them to herself, letting them manifest to the point where she no longer felt like living. 

These thoughts ran through his head as he watched a purple steel coffin float out into space, a fleur de lis emblazoned on the cover. Inside lay a peaceful Shaundi, and the Boss tried to take solace in the fact that she was with Johnny now, and they could make up for lost time. That, however, didn't cushion the fact they would never be returning. The fact they were gone from his life forever, taken by whatever cruel God was watching over his Saints. It hurt to watch her coffin float off into space, dulling the pain of the bulkhead bolt digging into his forehead, his gaze never leaving the window. He too was feeling the beginnings of pain, a deep emotional scar, and the gentle laughter from the lounge area only played mocking background.

He knew his Saints needed a good laugh, a general positive atmosphere after Shaundi's funeral, and all but he had gone up deck once the coffin had been jettisoned. The Boss had remained by the airlock window, watching the purple case float further and further into space, his happiness fading with it. He knew, felt that it was dangerous to be thinking like this, but something in him just didn't care. Didn't care if he died, or how it ended. Hopelessness would soon be creeping in, but the gentle footsteps of a woman reached his ears. He shifted in the plastic seat as he heard who it was.

"Boss?" Kinzie, wondering where he was, returned to the airlock, spotting her friend staring out the window. His gaze never left the thick glass, not even when he spoke.

"Hey Kinzie."

She heard something in his voice she never expected she'd hear: sadness. Not from the Boss, who had always been the hard ass warrior she knew and respected. The man who'd singlehandedly saved the US by jumping onto a live nuke to defuse it midair. The man who'd ran a country (not very well, but all the same.) The man who had killed an egomaniacal alien ruler. Sadness wasn't supposed to be in his head.

"We're watching _Dumb and Dumber_ in the lounge. Why don't you come hang out with us?"

"I'm fine, Kinzie. Thanks." _Dumb and Dumber_ had always been a favorite of himself, Gat, and Shaundi, as they'd always watch it together when they weren't shooting up gang members or killing aliens.

She moved closer, arms hanging at her sides. "Boss, I…we're worried about you."

"Don't be. I'm fine."

Her voice took on a more commanding tone. "Don't bullshit me, Boss. We saw you crying, it freaked us all the hell out."

No response from the Boss.

"Just…come and hang out with us."

"I said I'm fine, Kinzie. I'll be up in a few." He turned and gave her a smile, one which anyone could easily see as fake. She wanted to call him out on it, but instead sighed internally and gave up her questioning. It wasn't the best time for her to be bothering him; both of his best friends were dead. "I'll save a seat for you, Boss." She turned back and plodded up the stairs, the metal ringing out in his ears. It wasn't until he heard the automatic door close that he turned and went to open up, his stone face cracking again.

He'd wanted to talk to someone, anyone, to confide in them the truth. But when a moment presented itself, he'd been too scared. He couldn't afford to scare his Saints like that again. He needed them to be strong, so he needed to present a strong façade for them to follow. Easier said than done, but he needed to start somewhere.

And that somewhere was forcing himself from the chair to hike his way to the lounge, plastering what he hoped to be a positive attitude on his face. He knocked on the frame gently, announcing his presence to the darkened room, Lloyd Christmas already making a fool out of himself. It was still a funny movie, and the Boss expertly avoided hands and toes as he made his way to the sofa; Kinzie had indeed saved a spot for him, and he quietly sat down, watching as the two morons made the hitmans' life a living hell in a fur covered van.

It was partway through the movie that he felt Kinzie shift slightly closer to him, but close enough where he could make out her gentle breathing; the sofa was actually a loveseat, so space was at a minimum. Even so…he really couldn't complain. Kinize, while abrasive, had always been a nice woman on the inside. Sure, her love of BDSM was…eclectic, but she'd more than proved herself throughout the years. Aiding with Cyrus Temple, warring with the Syndicate…a useful and powerful ally.

But of late, he'd started noticing weird behavior, even for her. Whenever he was around and wasn't looking (or so she thought), she'd sneak glances at him, only for her gaze to flip back to her task. She was more careful with her words whenever he was around; making an effort to hold up his impression. Additionally, her emotions were more at play in his presence, opting to show more empathy than she ever had before.

Having actually been in a relationship before (being a ladykiller doesn't count), he wouldn't recognize the telltale signs of attraction. Instead, he just wrote these occurrences off as anomalies, but couldn't help feel his heart move when she shifted again. This time so their shoulders were touching. Nobody had ever gotten this physically close to the Boss before, but in the dark room, he let her get away with it.

Kinzie, on the other hand, was freaking out. He was actually letting her be this close for so long! The womans' face was positively flooded with blood, her heart moving about a million miles an hour. Naturally, her tough persona wouldn't allow it to show, but her softer side enjoyed the small contact. Felt…safer whenever he was nearby, knowing that he was a rock for her as well as the rest of the crew. Felt a little more secure, too.

She also knew that her ludicrous fantasy would never come true. That it would be just the two of them, and he'd search her eyes before leaning in closer, and closer, his lips parted…

"Earth to Kensignton. This is Earth to Kensington." Her fantasy popped apart as the Boss was waving his hand in front of her face. "Pull it together, Kinzie. You're drooling." She actually wasn't, but the lights being on told her that the movie had since ended, and the group dispersed throughout the ship…after they'd left their two cents on her and the Bosses situation. Nothing worth repeating, but something he would have normally punched Pierce for. 

Back to Kinzie and her flushed face, however.

She realized that she'd been fantasizing again, and quickly pulled herself up and away from his shoulder. Her face was trying to fight off the red color that threatened entry, and before she could lose, she bolted minus any explanation.


	4. The Hacker and The Poster Boy

The Boss was left by himself once again, and instead of moping this time, he headed to the bridge, greeted by Keith.

"How we doing, Keith?"

The former vice presidents turned and nodded towards his boss. "Smooth sailing, Mr. President. No destination in mind until we figure out a plan."

"Good man. Let me know if something comes up." The Boss nodded as he left, striding his away around the ship. His wandering was stopped by Ben King, who all but pulled him into the planning room, urgent look on his face.

"Shit, playa. Things are going down."

The Boss took a look at the map on the table, multiple areas on the Steelport Map circled in red.

"Easy, King. What am I looking at?"

Pierce took over for an explanation. "Those circled areas are broken parts of the simulation. None of us can get into them, even with our powers. We've been trying to figure it out, until I was nearly killed by a rogue CID unit the other day."

This was news to the Boss, who was resting on the table by his forearms. "I'm listening."

Pierce nodded. "See, I was trying to investigate the area – it's like the chunk is just missing. So I went in to have a look around, nearly got fried by a red looking mutha fucking CID unit. Said something about "You are not Mother," and that nigga tried to cook me like a turkey. Got my ass outta there before more of them showed up."

The Boss placed a finger to his chin, pondering this new information. "Nice work, Pierce, King. I'll go tell Matt and Kinzie." The Boss rapped his knuckles on the table before heading out to seek Matt.

He found the hacker on the lounge sofa once more, favorite handheld game beeping its' annoying tune.

"Miller." Ignored. "Miller." Ignored again. "Oh, for fucks sake." The Boss snatched the gaming device from the former Deckers' hands, much to the latters' disappointment. "Who are you, you bloody-!" A sharp look shut Matt up very quickly.

"Good boy." Miller gulped, and the Boss continued. "I want you and Kinzie to go over the simulation code tonight. See if you can find anything to do with this "Mother" a red CID was talking about. Let me know if you find anything." Handing the game back over to Matt, there was a momentary flash of pain on the Bosses face,but it disappeared so quickly that it could have been imagined…could have.

Miller left the lounge after that, going to seek out his worst enemy, but also greatest ally. The two of them together could wreak all kinds of digital hell, and their skills were perfect against an alien simulation such as this. Naturally, Matt found her in her little alcove below the transport bay, typing away on her Zin laptop. Waving to get her attention, he began speaking to Kinzie, relaying what the Boss had told him.  
"Huh, so this Mother chick is an AI, huh?" Kinzie was already logging this new information into her running database. Matt answered. "Apparently, a powerful one. The Boss…I don't know if I imagined it, but he looked scared."  
Kinzies' fingers stopped as she stared blankly at the screen. "You saw it too, huh?"

"It's not like him at all. I've never seen him like this."

"Matt, keep in mind that he lost his two best friends only weeks apart. That would hurt anybody…but you're right." She closed her laptop, meeting Millers' gaze. "We can't just ask him about it, though. He just plays it off as nothing."

The British hacker voiced his concerns. "Then what _can_ we do?"

The American hacker responded. "Right now? All we can do is figure out this 'Mother' thing Pierce was talking about." She was quickly back into business mode, and as she opened her laptop, Matt retrieved his, and together they worked in silent efficiency.

While his Saints were busy at work, the Boss was in his quarters, brutalizing the ever loving shit out of a heavy bag they'd manufactured from leather and grains of rice on board. It was by no means perfect, but for him to exercise, it fit the bill. Currently, though, it was more a vent for his emotions. First Gat, then Shaundi. His two best friends, gone in a matter of weeks. He vocalized a grunt, slamming his wrapped fist into the bag. He was shirtless, and his knuckles were not wrapped. He didn't care that they had started bleeding ten minutes ago, and each hit stained the bag further. He didn't care. His friends were gone. _Slam._ Dead. _Slam._ Never coming back. _Slam._ He wanted them back, damn it. He wanted Gat to show up and knock this bag of its chain. He wanted Shaundi to walk in and share her silly stories. He _needed_ them back, and without them, he felt like he was slowly losing grip on reality.

Reality came rocking back when an explosion rocked his feet, thrown to the ground. "What the fuck was –"Another explosion, the Boss rushing to his feet and towards the bridge. He cursed the door open, and found his ship face to face with a Zin ship – this one, however, was painted all black with red war stripes.

As the enemy ship fired, he ordered Matt and Pierce on the few guns they had. "Matt! Pierce! Guns! Now!" The two who were called jumped into action, crawling below decks for the ball turrets while Keith made use of the forward guns.  
The Boss yanked his phone from his pocket, searching for Zinjai, found, and dialed. As per usual, ZJ picked up on the first ring. "Yes, Your Excellency?"

"ZJ, there are Zin shooting at us! What gives?! I thought I earned the Empire after killing Zinyak."

"You did, sire, but rouge cells have recently come into existence, and from what I can gather, they are after you, Your Excellency."

The Boss angrily cut him off, hanging up. He stood in the bridge, supporting himself with his hand on the back of a seat. "Fuck! Kinzie, fry this mother fucker!" The redhead calmly obliged, spinning up the custom-made fore cannons. These bad boys were capable of firing a near unlimited amount of energy at their target – at a rate that would make The Flash look like he was walking.

The deadly firearms, starting spitting deadly plasma, but the enemy Zin ship had a shield – this would be a problem. Of course, _The Gat_ had a shield of its' own, but Keith calling out "Shields at 78% 70% 51%" did nothing to improve their current situation. "Damn it. Kinzie, you know what to do." Their eyes met a brief moment before she turned back to her console and readied an EMP bomb. This would knock both ships out for a while, but their EMP had a special feature – it was explosive.

The Boss steeled himself for an oncoming shockwave, his hand resting on the back of Kinzies' seat. "Launch-". He was about to give the order before the alien ship fired plasma none of them had either seen before. It was bright purple and slow moving. He expected to bounce off their shields, but it didn't. "Evasive maneuvers, now!" Asha yanked the yoke up, to dodge the plasma. When she did, however, both Pierces and Matts signal cut out. Keith confirmed his fears. "Turret 1; lost! Turret 2; lost!"

Two more fallen Saints. The Boss had enough; there would be time for sadness later. Right now they had to kill the alien bastards that had taken his friends. A steely calm voice echoed from within him, his gaze burning a hole in the hull of the opposing ship. "Kinzie. Drop the EMP, and fire everything we have at those fucks." The lack of emotion in his voice hastened her process; the spiky looking soccer ejected from beneath them, the ball floating lazily towards the jet black ship. A spark flickered on top of the ball, and an electric wave blasted outwards. Both ships went dark; but power was always reserved on _The Gat_ for the weapons. Her gaze as steel as the Bosses, she took hold of the guns control and indeed used everything the ship was armed with. Turrets, plasma rockets, even a few human warheads they discovered on board.

To say the enemy ship was destroyed would be an understatement. The EMP had done its job, as had the weapons. No trace of the enemy remained apart from small bits of debris floating in the space it had just occupied.

"Good work."

Two more dead, and Kinzie and Asha's faces reflected how he felt – shocked.

What was happening to his Saints? What had happened so they'd die so quickly, one after another? He wanted to know so badly, but for now, it escaped him. What didn't escape him, however, is one thing.

Protect Kinzie.


	5. A Rush

Their faces and voices wouldn't let him sleep.

They rejected any concept, any thought of sleep, and replaced it with blame. Replaced it with guilt, with anger and sadness. It would be impossible to sleep tonight, and after they hellish month they'd had, it was all the Boss tried to do. All he wanted to do was sleep, but for the past month, had been running on no more than two hours per night.

This sleep deprivation would be more than enough to drive an average person insane, drive him mad to the point of hopelessness.

But not the Boss. He still needed to present his hard-ass image to the rest of his crew. He had to look strong, so that Ben, Asha and Kinzie had something to hold on to. God only knew that they needed an anchor at a time like this. But even despite his façade, they could see through it. They could see through his tough-as-nails, no bull shit attitude. They could see, behind the mask of steel, was just an average man, hurt over the loss of his friends.

Hell, they were all hurt from the deaths in the past month. Some of them had died too quickly that they didn't have the time to properly mourn the deaths before another occurred. It was maddening, that they had survived so much: getting shot, taking down a terrorist, destroying the Syndicate, _riding a fucking nuke,_ hijacking an alien spaceship, killing an ego-maniacal alien ruler. And yet, here they were, dying to all the things they'd survived against for months. It was total bullshit, and the Boss knew it. He also knew that he needed to do something, anything, before he went mad with guilt or whatever else was weighing on his mind.

With sleep out of the picture for the night, the Boss kicked himself out of bed, the male bunk room unbearably empty and hollow, save the chainsaw known as King. He waited as the darkened ship acknowledged his presence and slid the door open for him, his bare feet barely making any noise against the steel steps. He had an idea of what he wanted to do, but he needed help to get that done. That help would come in the form of Kinzie, whom unsurprisingly was found in her usual spot beneath the bridge.

He saw her first, and couldn't stop himself from thinking how cute she looked. Her orange hair was down around her shoulders, glasses atop her head. A black tank top and plaid pajama pants added to her mousy charm, and before he was caught acting like a creeper, he knocked on the nearby staircase.

She looked up from her laptop. "You too, huh?"

The Boss wasn't too surprised she had been as sleepless as he. "Yeah. Can't get to sleep anymore."

"It's not really a surprise," Kinzie stated, pragmatic as ever.

"Still. I just want one good night of sleep, you know?"

"We all do, Boss."

"Michael." The Boss revealed his name, his real name, for the first time in six years.

"Huh?" Kinzie was confused. Who was Michael?

"My name. It's Michael."

Her green eyes widened in the dim light of the ship. Why was he revealing his name to her after six years of just 'Boss?'

"Boss…why are you telling me now, of all times?"

Michael just shrugged. "Might as well before we're all dead."

Kinzie, however, was skeptical. "Anybody else know besides me?"

Michael shook his head, taking a seat opposite the attractive genius. "Nobody."

"Then why tell me? Why not King?"

"Out of the rest of us, I've known you the longest." Waving off any comments about King, he continued. "King…he's a good guy, but he was in charge of the VK's for the longest time. While I'd take a bullet for him…I don't trust him as much as I do you, Kinzie."

For a second, Kinzie could have sworn her heart stopped. The Boss trusted her more than King, his presidential advisor and friend of eight years? Things weren't just adding up, but piecing this new revelation to his allowance of close contact the other day…could it be that the Boss harbored feelings for her? How could he, after his closest friends had died? He would have to know that he wasn't supposed to love; wasn't supposed to show emotion. So why now?

"Uh…Kinzie? You okay? Hey, Space Cadet." The Boss snapped his fingers in front of her face, the reaction being a quick number of blinks and a surprised look.

"What? Oh, uhm…yeah." Against her will, her cheeks flushed. If the Boss had seen it, he showed no indication that he had. Instead, he got up from his chair, extending his hand towards his seated friend. "Kinzie. Why don't you and I head into the simulation? It's been too long since I've had some fun?"

She was curious. "And do what?"

"I don't fuckin know. I was just planning on letting the chips fall where they may. Maybe we have a race, maybe we…hell, I don't know. Let's just do it."

Kinzie hesitated a brief moment before she nodded and accepted his surprisingly soft hand, a possible allusion to his gentle nature, perhaps? In any case, Kinzie relished the three second contact before he let go and led on up to the main simulation deck, and the Boss was the first one into the simulation.

He waited at the Doorway, and not ten seconds later, Kinzie appeared in her rather…revealing super outfit. Considering Kinzie had designed all of the super suits herself, he wasn't too surprised she'd opted to reveal a large part of her cleavage. The Bosses outfit, on the other hand, consisted of a black coat tailed jacket, combat boots, long gloves, a simple black tee, and military pants. ((A/N: Sim Suit))

Thus fully armed and equipped with their appropriate super powers, the Boss had an idea. Looking over to Kinize, who was cradling a rifle like a child, he smirked. "Last one to Three Count buys dinner."

The poor hacker didn't even have a chance to process before he made use of his super speed and took off, weaving in and out of traffic. Not one to be outdone, Kinzie took off after him, and within seconds, she was on his heels. This would be a long, fun race, and the Boss, realizing she'd be too fast, started using his super jump to gain extra bits of distance at a time. Jumping forward, however, was useless, because her speed would overtake his height.

"Damn, Kinzie! I'm jealous you made yourself so fast!" They were back at even speed, running along rooftops, the lights of Three Count casino visible in the distance. "Well, how else was I supposed to keep up?!" His only answer was a laugh and whoop as the duo cleared a hundred fifty foot gap between two buildings, landing gracefully on the other side.

Their speed was exhilarating, and neither Saint gave their opponent an inch of ground. Sure, one would pull ahead of the other from time to time, but the ground would swiftly be lost as they entered New Baranec, Killbanes' ugly mug getting larger and larger with each passing second. Both Kinzie and the Boss secretly wanted to lose this race, but no matter who won, there would still be a date. And hell, a date was a date; it didn't matter who paid. So as long they had company.

-

"Damn it!" The Bosses feet touched roof mere seconds after Kinzies did, and he was greeted by her gentle laughter. "Looks like you're paying, Boss."

"All right, all right. I know when I'm beat." He sighed in mock defeat, moving to sit on the edge of the roof, to take in the city. Despite being a simulation, Fake Steelport sure looked like the real thing, right down to how the moon skirted the top of Saints HQ. It really was a sight to take in, and as he admired, he felt Kinzie's presence join him, the only distance between them a few inches of roof.

"Sure looks like home, huh Boss."

"Sure does."

A pause.

"You miss it?"

"I miss the memories."

"…Like?"

He had to think for a second, but he was finding that hard to do with Kinzie so close by.'

"Before you ran with us, Shaundi and Pierce, we had to take Saints HQ from the Morningstar. Ah man, I jumped out of a helicopter. I just…"

Kinzie knew he was thinking about both Pierce and Shaundi again, how they'd never be returning.

"Sorry, Boss. I just wanted to know what it was really like."

"Its fine, Kinzie." More silence as he thought how things really were going. Four friends dead; the rest in jeopardy from god only knows. Yet wondering wouldn't do him any good. 

Standing up, he dusted off his pants and stretched, his gaze forward. "All right. Since you won our little race, where do you want to go to dinner? Freckle Bitches?"

Her response was a cynical stare that elicited a laugh from the Boss. "Okay okay." He held his palms outward in mock defense. "But seriously, where to, Ms. Kensington?"

Kinzie was looking out into the city, her heart beating in her ears. Here she was, out with the Boss, by herself, and he would be taking her out to dinner. Where did she want to go?

Felloci's, the fancy Italian place in Loren Square?

Or maybe Friar Tucks, the family friendly place in Brickston?

Then there was always HFIM (Holy Fuck It's Monday) in Salander.

But which one should she pick? Felloci's was too fancy; he might think its weird and a date date.

The Boss decided for her, however. "Taking too long. We're going to Felloci's. My treat."

As if her heart wasn't pounding fast enough.


	6. Dinner

((A/N: Yes, I know this is a re-post of chapter six, but something went amiss when I posted this chapter. Apparently whatever document reader fanfiction uses decided to take all of my later paragraphs and turn them into a giant mess. Bleh.))

Kinzie sat by herself in the subdued, dimly lit restaurant. She kept eyeing the door nervously, waiting for the Boss…Michael…to show. They'd agreed on an nine pm dinner reservation, and Kinzie, always the pragmatic one, had shown up at 8:55 exactly to secure their spot; dead center of the restaurant.

Speaking of the restaurant, it was gorgeous. She had to admit Zinyak had taste when it came to interior decorating, as the pearl white table cloth expertly reflected the lone candle, adding a tad more light to their table. The decorating itself was laid back, but tasteful. Circular tables with ornate, low back chairs were laid out in a large circle, the short bandstand relegated to the north east corner of the dining area. It was all well and good, but a quick check of the time told her that it was 9:01, yet the Boss was nowhere to be seen.

By nature, Kinzie was punctual. Always had been, and despite knowing the boss for four years, she'd failed to learn he took his time; regardless of the task or mission at hand. It annoyed her, and she rubbed at her shoulder to reflect her irritation, purple floor length dress hanging elegantly over her form. A black sash tied into a simple bow at her waist, and black eyeshadow highlighted her green eyes in a stunning fashion. She hoped she wasn't overdoing it, but the looks she was getting from the men…safe to say she'd gone overboard.

A waiter appeared, bottle of wine in hand. "Madam, may I interest you in 1956 Bordeux Red?"

"A sample, please."

The waiter obliged, pouring a small amount into her glass. She tasted, nodded, and the waiter filled both glasses appropriately.

It was that moment the Boss chose to make his entrance, and after a short exchange with the maitre'd, he was led over to their table. He was dressed as well as Kinzie was, his black suit fitting in all the right places, a purple silk shirt unbuttoned at the top. He was never really one for ties, let alone suits, so he'd had to consult King on this fashion shit.

Kinzie flushed, thankful for the dim lighting. The Boss sat down, nodding towards the waiter to ask for a glass of water. He bowed partially and hurried off, leaving the Saints on their own.

"Hope I'm not too late. I had to ask King how to dress up for this," the Boss apologized.

"I take it you've never been on a date like this before," Kinzie inquired.

"Well, not really. Can't count the times I've been asked out before, though."

This little bit of information made Kinzie irrationally jealous, but she caught herself. Why would that make her jealous? It wasn't like she…she was _that_ into him or anything…right? Then again, maybe she was, but really didn't know what to make of it.

"You turned them down?" She tried not to sound too hopeful.

"Well, yeah. I mean, our line of work…it really isn't a safe thing. I really can't risk bringing an outsider in on that. That'd be just, well, mean." He shrugged, one leg crossed over the other. The waiter returned with his water, asking the couple if they were ready to order.

"I still haven't decided. Kinzie?" The woman shook her head and opened the menu, the waiter disappearing to serve another table. "You all right, Kinzie? You seem kinda distracted."

"I'm fine boss." Actually, she wasn't, and her face burned behind the menu. This was to hide the fact that she was freaking out over this. _'Goddamnit, I'm actually on a date with the Boss!'_ She wanted to scream, shout, anything to expel her nervous energy, as it was currently being spent on peeking over her menu at the Boss. He looked so handsome; a radical change from the unflattering Zin spacesuits. She could tell he was still pondering over the menu, yet his eyes rose, catching hers.

He laughed softly and closed the menu, setting it on the edge of the table. "See something you like, Kinzie?" He laughed again and laid back in his chair, Kinzies' face almost on fire. _'Yes, I most definitely do!'_ Was what she wanted to say, but didn't say anything as their waiter returned.

"Have we decided?"

The Boss spoke first. "Yes, I'll be having your Pollo E Carciofi." The server nodded, hands crossed in front of his waist. He didn't carry a note pad, as years of food service had sharpened his memory to a razor edge. "And for the madam?"

"I'll have the Pollo Marsala, please. Oh, if possible, can you exchange the capellini for fettucini? He nodded again. "Of course, madam." He rushed off again, their orders written down on a secret note book. With the waiter gone, their comfortable silence resumed until the Boss pierced it.

"What about you, Kinzie? Ever been on a date?"

She flushed. "N-not like this."

He smirked, leaning forward in his seat. "Oh ho, so you _have_ been on dates before."

"We-well, yeah. But only to cheap places. And the movies…"

The Boss laughed genuinely. "Jeez, and here I was thinking you were some sorta love guru."

"What do you mean?," Kinzie inquired, taken aback.

"What I mean is you seem so level about love and emotions is all. It seems almost like a second nature for you; it comes easy." He sipped at his wine while she gathered her response.

"Love…it really isn't that easy, Boss. I…I don't date anymore because of too many bad experiences." Now it was the Bosses turn to look curious. She was finally going to open up to him? This was an exciting and unique prospect, so he remained quiet so as to not interrupt. "You remember Alex, from the White House?" He had been a Secret Service member for the Boss at the time. "We started flirting from the first day you assigned me as Secretary of the Press. Innocent at first, but the longer we talked, the more serious it got."

Kinzie was fighting the blush she felt creeping up her cheeks, hands clenched under the table. Her gaze was still on the Boss, however, no matter how much embarrassment she was feeling.

"He asked me out about six months later. It was an awful, awful date. His car broke down in the middle of Route 67, we had to call roadside assistance, and yet…it was a really good experience. We didn't get a second date because he had to leave the Secret Service."

The Boss looked sheepish, looking away while he scratched at his face. "Geez, Kinzie. Had I known you were serious, he would have stayed. You…deserve to be happy." This gave her visible pause. He wanted her to be happy? It didn't make sense. She wanted to be with the Boss; that would make her very, very happy. She wanted to be in his arms, to feel his lips against hers, to wake up next to him, to hold his head on her lap…

"Oh fuck, not this again. Kinzie!" The Boss spoke as loud as socially acceptable, snapping Kinzie from her love fantasy. "Huh? Oh." Her cheeks turned red as she realized she'd been caught fantasizing. "You okay? You've been distracted a lot lately." The look of genuine concern on his face made her heart warm, but embarrassed by the same token. "I'm fine, Boss. Just tired, is all." She gave him what she hoped to be a reassuring smile, but the Boss wasn't buying it. Even so, he left it alone, another silence enveloping the table until their food appeared, both entrees looking absolutely heavenly.

Kinzie's dish consisted of chicken breast sautéed with button mushrooms & a marsala wine demi-glaze, served over fettucini pasta. It rivaled the Bosses choice of chicken breast, artichoke hearts, & black olives sauteed with fresh garlic, lemon juice & sherry wine. It was finished with a touch of cream & our rich demi- glaze, and served over capellini pasta. Both dishes weren't relatively cheap, either, but price was the last thing on their mind as they enjoyed the others' company and idle chit chat.

"You did what?" The Boss laughed whole-heartedly, coffee in hand and napkin tossed on the table. "I kid you not, we were easily two hundred feet up, and-" He interrupted himself by laughing, and couldn't stop giggling.

"I can't, I can't!" He was shaking with held back laughter, and Kinzie was just about in tears herself. "Never knew you were such a wild man, boss! Even from a young age, too."

"Ah man, those were the days." His laughter eventually died out to an even tone, but the smile was still on his face. He was more than happy to talk the night away with her, and with the check paid and signed for, he suggested they head out. "

You all set?"

She nodded, taking one last sip of her tea before gathering her purse and glasses, swiftly followed by the boss, his suit jacket hooked on his finger over his back. The duo were dismissed with a few 'have a good night's' from the staff, and they stepped back out onto the busy streets of Loren Square.

Thinking their night was over, Kinzie started walking to the nearest door, but the Boss stayed put. A fact Kinzie didn't realize until she looked over her shoulder to see him looking at her. "Boss?" He had a playful smile on his face. "Come on, I want to show you something." Her curiosity piqued, she was back at his side in a few seconds, walking alongside him a few seconds more.

They headed up the streets, passing by various shops and other outlet stores, but other than small banter, conversation was kept to a minimum. Contact, however, wasn't, as indicated by the Boss reaching for and taking Kinzie's hand in his, a bold move that set Kinzie's heart flying. He kept ahold of her hand as they reached Syndicate Tower, and still held on as he called the elevator.

At this point, she was really curious. "Boss, where are we going?" "You'll see." And she did indeed see as the elevator opened at the roof, a few steps later, and the whole city was laid out before them. The night air was chilly, but that barely registered to Kinzie as she took in the awe-inspiring view of the city below. It was almost like a post-card, a stock image, and it was with child-like wonder she observed. The Boss, on the other end, was more than happy to watch her, which he did with a satisfied smile on his face, leaning against the tall rail across from her. She eventually caught him looking, and she matched his smile, her hands on the rail.

"What is it, Boss?"

" I'd rather admire you than the city."


	7. Passion

**Hey guys. A Silent Conversation here. Juuuust a fair warning, this chapter does get hot n' heavy, but no straight up smut. Implied references here and there, but no explicit descriptions of the act or acts leading up to the act. (Was that redundant? Eh.) That said, there will be a few scenes that are** _ **borderline**_ **steamy, but it will take one hell of an imagination to fill in the blanks. Hope you enjoy this one!**

Did she hear that right? Did he…did the Boss just actually say that?

"B-boss?"

"You heard right." He moved off the rail to stand next to her, his elbows resting on the rail. The view really was spectacular, but did nothing to calm his rapidly beating heart. He'd always been meaning to tell her how he felt, and even if she shot him down, he tried.

"Kinzie…there's something I should tell you." The woman could no longer meet his gaze, opting to stand by his side, well within his personal space.

"Wh…what would that be, Boss?"

The Boss sighed, still trying to gather his courage. He actually found it funny, laughable, even. He'd survived countless gun shots, wars, gang members, yet confessing to Kinzie was what scared him? He had to admit it was silly, but if he didn't, he figured he'd go crazy, not having somebody he wanted so desperately.

"You remember when I rode that nuke to save DC?"

She nodded, words failing her.

"I thought to myself 'god, I'm going to miss Kinzie.' I didn't think about Gat, or Shaundi, or Pierce. I wanted you, and only you, to be my last thought." Sighing partially in nerves, he pushed up so his hands were on the rail instead of his arms. "It's taken me two years to see you as you, not as a hacker. And whenever I do, I find I like what I see." His face flushed, and he covered his mouth with his hand, desperately waiting to hear her reply.

-

He was confessing to her?! She wanted to be the one to confess to him, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. His buying dinner at the most expensive place in the city. Holding her hand in passing, letting her this close to him. But what really hit home was that he'd shared his real name with her, something King didn't even know. Yes, it all made sense now, and so it was her turn to confess.

"Boss…I…" She clenched the rail, mustering up the courage. "I don't know when or why, but…" She could barely get it out, but she had to for her own sanity. "I…fell for you. Like you said…when you were riding that nuke, and I thought you were gonna be gone for good…" Tears started to leak from her face as she thought back to it. "I…I just wanted you to come back to us, to come back to me, and when you did, I." She was cut off by his sudden hug, although gently.

He'd been scared she would shoot him down, but now he learned that she actually felt the same way about him. It was a tremendous relief, and the Boss fought his own tears as she pressed her face into his shoulder, her tears staining the dark fabric. Their tears were of joy, not sadness, and neither moved from the hug, her arms at his waist and his at her shoulders. It was surprisingly comfortable for both involved, though the Boss ended it to continue talking.

"Kinzie…I…I just want you to stay with us, to stay with me…" His words were whispered, barely audible, but loud enough for them to be heard and carry weight as well. She bit back a smile as she responded. "Of course, Michael. I'm not going anywhere."

And unable to resist any more, the Boss moved into her, his lips seeking out hers.

He was warm.

His lips were so soft.

His hand felt like silk on her neck.

She was gentle.

She was so warm.

Her lips were cotton.

Kinzie, for one, was in utter bliss. Her fantasies were swiftly becoming reality; first his confession, then the kiss she'd spent weeks dreaming about (it was better than she dreamed.) It was just…happiness, and when he asked her to stay with him, she used his real name, solidifying the already concrete bond between the two. All that mattered right now was feeling the Boss in her arms, his lips dancing with hers. It was just…indescribable, but in order to breathe, they had to reluctantly stop.

Breaking apart in the moonlight, their green eyes positively shown, with Kinzie pressing her head against his chest, arms around his waist. She felt undeniably happy, ecstatic, and hopeful. Actually, she was still trying to process that this was actually happening, and not just another one of her fantasies. She sincerely hoped it wasn't, and the gentle motion of his thumb on the back of her hand felt far too real to be false.

He too was trying to process. He'd had his eye on this woman for the past two years, always afraid to flirt, or even casually approach her. But what had changed where he could finally feel comfortable enough to be friendly.

Deep down, although he refused to accept it, he knew. He knew it was because of the deaths, because of the pain of loss. Everybody was feeling beaten down, and it was in cases like those that two lonely souls would seek each other out for comfort. And as for the dance they'd been doing – the subtle flirtation, embarrassed glances – before now, it all seemed trivial considering how both were feeling.

It was the sudden gust of wind that brought them back to reality, the elevation of their confession doing very little to break them apart. What did break them, apart, however, was the need to get back to the ship. Both knew where this was heading – a consummation of the hidden feelings shared just today.

Taking her hand, Boss led Kinzie back into the elevator – where much to his pleasant surprise, she kissed him again, a playful smile in her voice. "Get used to it, because I've been waiting months to do that." If he had a reply, it was cut off by another, more passionate kiss, and he had to gently remind her that they were back in public. He'd rather avoid the combination of envious stares as well the glare of an older citizen who disapproved of PDA. Even so, she was practically on top of him as they strode their way back to the Door, and after a short hug, The Boss stepped through first. Kinzie quickly followed, and before she even had the chance to step down from the Matrix, the Boss had her in his arms and was leading her to a room he'd built specifically for couples – if that ever arose.

Well, it certainly had tonight, and the bedroom was reminiscent of his back at the White House. A king size bed with a black fleece blanket, underneath an impractical number of red and black pillows – each of different shape and size. As far as the lighting went, it was pretty standard – until the Boss fingered a lever on the wall. This replaced the overhead lights with a soft red glow. It was still pretty easy to see, and sure as hell did he see. Kinzie had taken the moment to lay on the bed, her spacesuit tossed casually on the floor. She was left in a black tank top and bike shorts, and judging by the way she was posed, she was more than ready.

Moving slowly, the Boss removed his own space suit – a tight fitting white tshirt and simple boxers underneath. He crawled on the bed, resting over Kinzie on all fours. He leaned down, and as their lips fought for dominance, clothes were ripped at, tossed aside, removed until both wore nothing but passion for each other.

He moved into her, their movements rocking the mattress until he reached the ultimate feeling, Kinzie reciprocating with curled toes and a held back moan.

Spent, The Boss lay down next to the red head, a fine layer of sweat coating both of the Saints. Neither had any idea how long they'd been at it, but neither Kinzie nor the Boss really cared. All they cared about was one another, and the lay side by side, their fingers interlocked. Their green eyes looked into one another, not a word spoken, but the message clear.

' _I love you.'_


	8. The Morning After

**((We he ell, this chapter is long overdue. Sorry to those reading this faithfully; I've had a hell of a month. Before I forget, I wanted to give a shout out to** _ **Princess Kinzie**_ **and** _ **TheMasterOfFiction**_ **for sticking with this from the start. I always appreciate my readers' support, and hope you guys stick around 'til the end!))**

* * *

Their night was long, warm, and passionate. Both parties could attest to the fact that many noises were made, some of which ill-befitting their current, rather grim situation. Even so, the two were finally showing years of hidden passion, and much like an over pressurized soda bottle, all it took was a small turn for the feelings to come rocketing out all at once.

And Jesus Christ it was epic.

The Boss woke up to the incessant buzzing of the bed-side alarm, a salvaged relic from Zinyaks' collection of alien artifacts. For a moment, the Boss thought the whole thing had been imagined, a dream, until the door slid open, and in walked a scantily dressed Kinzie, carrying two mugs in her hands.

There was a warm, gentle smile on his face sat upright to accept one of the mugs from his lover, his eyes following her as she joined him in the bed.

"So I didn't imagine it." The Boss was the first to speak, his voice low in the early hours.

Kinzie shook her head, looking more attractive with her hair down around her shoulders. It gave her less of a hot-librarian, more art professor look, but the Boss was in no place to complain. He loved her no matter how she looked or would look. "Boss, I…I've been waiting years to tell you that…"  
He silenced her with a finger against her lips, quickly replaced by his own. He pulled back, his forehead gently touching hers. "I know, Kinzie. I do too." The redhead flushed, her face red with emotion. It was adorable in the awkward sort of way, and the Boss simply laughed, pulling her to him with his free arm.

Securely under his grasp, Kinzie leaned into his warm chest, content listening to his strong and even heartbeat just under her ear. It made her relax, more relaxed than she'd ever been since everything went to shit. It was nice to have somebody to care about in a galaxy that was out to kill them.

The Boss knew they couldn't stay like this forever, as much as he wanted to. A check on the time told him that Asha and Ben would be waking soon, and he needed to talk to what remained of his crew. ' _Now there's a sentence I thought I'd never use.'_ What remained of his crew? A hacker, strategist, genius AI, and lastly himself, the general of it all. He'd never expected anybody to die, and he could tell the deaths were wearing his friends down.

Gently rubbing Kinzie's arm to get her attention – she'd turned it into a teddy bear – and freed himself from her grasp. A small moan of discontent emanated from his girlfriend, causing him to smile and laugh a small amount, something he appreciated. It was good to see her relaxed like this, and after pulling on his spacesuit (after kissing Kinzie, of course,) headed out onto the main deck, only to find a harried looking Ben King.

The Chief of Staff was hastily scrawling on a scrap piece of paper while poring over one of the many digital displays in the simulation room. Kinzie walked in seconds after the Boss did, her hair tied back in her signature messy bun. The mousy woman approached Ben, resting a hand on his shoulder as she advised what he was doing. Leaving them to it, the Boss set out to find the resident AI, CID. Sure enough, the ball of floating circuits was found on the bridge.

"What do ya got for me, CID?" The Boss wanted to know what progress had been made on this "Mother," as well as deconstructing the simulation.

"Research progress at fifteen percent." The deadpan tone was often CID's way of hiding bad news.

"I'm guessing that isn't good." The Boss folded his arms across his chest, leaning on the bulkhead. "Give me a straight answer, CID."

"The simulation is constantly changing. Being re-written from the inside out."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it is highly inadvisable to return to the simulation. There is no way to guarantee safety in returning, if you'd be able to return at all."

"So the Gateways are collapsing?"

"Not collapsing. Being re-coded. Turned into unpredictable transit points."

The Boss was curious, crossing the room to where CID levitated at a console. "Explain, CID."

"Zinyak created multiple simulations; fake Steelport being his thirty first. With Mothers' Control Interface Devices re-writing code inside Gateways, it is unpredictable where you'd exit the simulation; or rather, into _what_ simulation."

Pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing, the Boss nodded, thanked CID for his research, and headed off in search of Kinzie.

He found her back in her usual spot; the alcove below the bridge. She was busy typing away at her laptop, and he knew her focus would be intense. However, when he approached, she closed the laptop and gave him a knowing smile, causing the Bosses face to adopt a pinker shade. This didn't go unnoticed by Kinzie, who motioned for him to sit next to her. "You know Boss, you look cute when you blush. I actually thought you were incapable of blushing."  
His only response was to playfully nudge her with his shoulder, but he was quickly back to business. "Whaddya got for me, Kinzie?"

The auburn haired hacker pulled her laptop back to life, her fingers bullets on the keys. "CID's right. The simulation is too dangerous to enter any more. Plus, I can't seem to get anywhere on deconstructing it. I get shut out every time I try." While not new information, the Boss found it to be frustrating. No closer than when they'd started, and what did they have to show for it? Four dead friends, all of whom died for nothing. Purposeless, needless death.

The Boss noticed that seemed to be a recurring theme, but right now, he couldn't let that get the better of him. He still had a ship to run, not to mention represent humanity's last hope at survival. As it were, the latter was looking rather grim, even with the humans Zinyak had captured. Those men and women didn't last long outside of their sustaining support pods, and most had died within weeks of being released.

Meaning, if no other humans existed, there were only four humans left in existence.

A grim situation indeed, but he appreciated the distraction of the auburn haired woman sitting next to him, and after making her put her laptop aside, laid his head down on her small yet comfortable lap; just like the fantasy she'd been having not three days before. She was loving every nano-second of the contact, but soon, a flashing red light on the extension laptop – a PDA, really – caught her attention. Reaching for the palm sized device, ice ran through her veins, and she nudged Michael.

"Boss…you gotta take a look at this." She showed him the screen, and his blood ran cold.

"Of all the fucking times…bring this to CID. I'll go get King and Asha. We need a plan, and soon."

Kinzie nodded and tucked the PDA into her pocket, heading off to the bridge. The Boss went off in search of the other crew members. This left the laptop by its lonesome, and any passerby would see the screen, clear as day.

 _Warning._

 _Warning._

 _Foreign program detected._

 _11:14:10 – Program sent message – Content: 'You are not Mother.'_

* * *

 ** _Hey guys. A Silent Conversation here. What do you guys think of it so far? Good, right? Anyway, wanted to apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. If you have any suggestions or want to share ideas, shoot me a message. I'm always looking to improve. Bye for now!_**


	9. The Boss

**_Again, another long overdue chapter. So, so sorry for the delay - getting FAFSA through is a right pain._**

 ** _Right, onto the fic. Without giving it away, story and plot changes have occurred over the course of my writing this. That said, this is the penultimate chapter, so keep your eyes open for the final chapter, coming some time next week...I promise._**

 ** _I'm srs u guise._**

* * *

Quickly walking through the ship, The Boss tracked down Asha, who was found lifting weights below decks. He approached her with a serious face, but gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Meet me on the bridge in five. I gotta go find King."

Asha could tell something was up, as he'd never shown that level of tenderness before. Of course, all of his friends had been alive before, so there was that. But _what_ exactly was going through her friends' head?  
After his brief interaction with Asha, The Boss set off to find Ben King, and much to nobody's surprise, was found in the eating area, busily scribbling away at a piece of paper. A look over his shoulder confirmed that Ben was working on his book, but The Boss had to interrupt him.

"You'll have to work later, Ben. I need to see you on the bridge."

"Everything chill, playa?" His voice was relaxed but held an edge of concern.

The Boss' voice failed to reflect his nonchalant tone. In fact, every part of the Boss looked tired, from his eyes to how he stood. "No."

After Ben, The Boss sought his way towards the bridge, and wasn't surprised to see Kinzie typing hectically while CID advised from her flank. Together, he knew, they could take down any sort of cyber network, but when it came to defending their own systems…he just hoped they could do it. There was no way in Hell they'd be able to come back from a virus invasion of unknown scale.  
Although he hated to interrupt Kinzie while she worked, he needed to find out what was going on. He went over to the console she was working on, and after placing a hand on her shoulder, lowered his gaze to the monitor.

"What do we got, Kinzie?"

"I wish I knew. This code…it's not even in the Zin systems. I'm working as fast as I can, but not knowing what it is doesn't help." She sounded flustered, and he didn't blame her. They were under attack from something he couldn't shoot, and he left her to it, but not before CID left his two cents.

"Theory: Unknown Virus origin is Mother; unknown AI entity capable of creating its' own code."

Kinzie's fingers froze, for the idea of a super AI like that seemed impossible, even for their current situation. "CID, you're telling me that an AI can develop and create code for its' own use?"

"Correct, Ms. Kensington. Although it is only theorized, the Zin have many records of attempts to create an AI at Zin level or higher." The AI in a floating sphere bobbed, the weight of his words having a visible effect on the hacker. Her hands slipped from the keys, the desperation and hopelessness of the situation starting to get to her. "No..no, no, no…"

There was no way she could contend with an AI that was constantly changing and mutating, one that could hack her triple-protected, anti-worm systems. It was impossible, there was –

"Kinzie." The Boss' voice broke through her self-pity, and he walked up behind her once more, gently lifting her hands back onto the keys. His voice was so soft, he was practically whispering. "I know it's hard, Kinzie. But I know you. I know that you can do this." He almost added 'for me,' but decided halfway through his sentence that the added pressure would further weaken her constitution.

Seconds after he'd finished speaking to Kinzie, the door slid open to allow Ben and Asha access, and The Boss quickly reassumed his leader position, voice steel. "Sorry to pull you from your break, but something important came up." He turned and nodded to CID, who turned the main display into the duplicate of the monitor from earlier. It turned the whole room red with its' dangerous message, and made Asha and Ben pale. Nearly. The Boss knew his Saints were too strong to let this scare them, but with their computer systems at stake, still needed to take it seriously.

"What can we do, playa?" Ben posed.

"Go to the bay and pull vital storage files from the racks. Data on the simulation, names, anything that matters. We can't risk losing it. Also, we need to take out the life support file drive. If the virus takes that, we're done." He turned his head to look at Kinzie, who gave him a short nod to indicate he was giving the right directions.

"Asha, get the guns from storage. There's no telling if we'll be attacked when vulnerable like this."

She nodded, turning out, but stopped halfway. "Even the-?"

The Boss nodded. "Yes. Even that one."

Shit was getting serious if they needed _that_ gun."

With the other two occupied, The Boss was free to check on Kinzie. Her fingers were moving in a blur, glasses reflecting the monitor in front of her. He didn't dare disturb her, and he was about to leave when he heard her punch the monitor. "Damn it! They got past me; they're in!"

"Oh, for fucks' – Kinzie, do everything you can to keep it busy!"

"And what about you, where are you going?"

He flashed her one of his rare smiles. "To do what I do best. Kick some ass!" He whooped with laughter, and she couldn't help but smile as she turned back to the monitor, cracking her knuckles.

"All right you digital fucks. You wanna mess with the best, you're gonna die like the rest." There was a grin on her face that was rare to see – it meant get the fuck out of the way before the firestorm ensued.

She quickly set to work slowing down invading data worms, but she could only catch so many before they slipped past. It was a small ratio, stopping every one out of five, but an acceptable amount. She just wished she knew how many they would be dealing with.

Back in the supply room, the Boss was busy gathering up his favorite guns when he heard a loud _bang_ on the side of the ship. It was enough to set him off balance, and he opened up a radio channel to Kinzie. "What the hell hit us, Kinzie?"

" _A rogue Zin ship, Boss. They must have known we were fighting off the data worms."_ There was a pause and another slam, this one being Kinzie hitting the monitor. " _Fuck, fire control just went down. We don't have any fire power!"_  
Looking down at his crate of babies, he spoke. "I can fix that."

" _Boss, don't you-."_

"Sorry kid. I'll buy you some time, but you gotta get outta here."

" _No! I'm not leaving you behind!"_

"I wasn't asking." In order to save himself and Kinzie the heart ache of separation, he shut off his communicator, reaching into his guns and pulling out his favorite toy – the Brute Minigun.

"Oh, this will be fun. Asha!" He barked a command at his MI6 friend.

The agent looked at him around the massive pile of weapons

"Open the umbilical. I'm gonna go ask for a cup of sugar."

He hoisted his big gun while Asha's face flickered through different emotions. Neutral. Anger. Sadness. But it finally settled on grim determination, and she nodded.

She went over to the bay doors and pulled a lever, and a loud warning siren cautioned those nearby to stay clear as an alien plastic walkway trudged from its' hiding place. The lumbering machine passed by the Boss as the bay opened, and the umbilical pierced the oxygen membrane like indestructible bubble. Once eighty percent clear of their own ship, the umbilical latched onto the rogue Zin ship – the enemy had chosen to sit directly behind them – and began the burning process.

A series of lasers traced around the mouth of the umbilical as it burned a hole in the Zin ship, and after a minute of silence, alien steel met the floor of the umbilical, and the Boss chambered the first round into his gun.

Asha looked sad as he hoisted Betty alongside and into the umbilical, but managed to hide her tears when he turned to face her. "Once I'm through, retract the umbilical. There's no telling how many of them are on board, and I don't want you to stick around if this ship has reinforcements." He flashed a smile once again as he began his final walk and dropped down into the enemy Zin ship.

* * *

The Boss had been right; the enemy Zin had brought reinforcements, but the Boss had bought enough time so that Ben, Asha, and Kinzie could get away in time. Reinforcements had jumped in seconds after the humans left, all of the Zin ships moving towards the ship that Michael "The Boss" Lewis had taken over. They actively ignored the other humans – their big prize inches from their noses.

They would never get their prize, however.

For as they approached, the Boss still had one act of defiance left in him.

The Boss pressed a button, and space turned white.


	10. The Return

**It took longer than expected, but lo and behold, here it is, the final chapter in my first fanfiction,** _ **Saints Row, Loss and Love in Space.**_ **All I want to say is thank you to those of you who stuck with this fic from the very beginning (here's looking at you,** _ **MasterofFiction**_ **& **_**PrincessKinzie.**_ **) Honestly, had it not been for not only your, but everybody else's positive and helpful reviews, this fic might not have been finished. So again, many, many thanks to everyone.  
**

 **~A Silent Conversation**

* * *

White.

It was just white. There was no sound, sights, smells, anything other than the boss and the white. He had no way to tell time, so for a good while, The Boss just…was. He didn't have a body in this limbo, or so he'd taken to calling it.

He figured it was limbo, well, because, he'd just blown the hell out of an alien armada, himself along with it. There was no way it could be survived, not even for the seemingly immortal Boss, or as he'd taken to calling himself again, Michael Young.

Michaels' consciousness seemed to float on until, finally, it bumped into something. What, exactly, well, that was anybody's guess as there was no up down left or right. So what had he bumped into?

Looking down to investigate, Michael was surprised to find that he held a body once more, but it was years younger. Perhaps twelve or thirteen at the latest.

It just didn't add up; he was undoubtedly dead, and he knew Kinzie-

Kinzie. The one person that had mattered the most, and he left her behind. ' _Think, Michael. If you didn't destroy that ship, it would have destroyed her and your other friends. You did what you had to._ '

Reasoning it out didn't help any.

He loved Kinzie and he knew it. He'd always harbored feelings for her since the Klawz Incident, about a year ago.

* * *

It had been her reaction to his present that surprised him most, and also set his heart into motion. Her sudden jump into his arms, her joyous laughter, only for the Boss to join in when they fell to the snow covered ground. It only escalated from there as their merriment was cut off by the realization how close they were to one another. She, resting over his body, blushed deeply and moved first, the Boss quickly rolling free as well. An awkward silence had ensued until a snowball pegged the Boss in the back of the head, and laughter broke through the tension like ceramic through glass.

* * *

That had been such a marvelous day, and as the Boss surveyed his childlike body, wished he could live it over and over again.

He supposed he'd never be getting that chance…or would he?

Just as he was thinking about it, a door appeared in front of him. A simple, four panel wood door with a brass handle practically beckoned to him, and after pulling the door open, found himself back in Fake Steelport. Something, however, was different.

He was a spectator, and the young Michael watched as his older self and Kinzie had the time of their lives. It made his heart ache, and failed to notice the door fade into nothing behind him. It was realized, however, when he couldn't bear to watch further, and suddenly found himself lacking a door. Shit, was he trapped in here, reliving this hard memory over and over again?

His question was answered by the appearance of another door, this one solid steel. Hesitant, the young Michael placed his hand over the cylindrical handle and twisted, stepping through and into Kinzie's old warehouse. Again, the young boss played spectator as his older self and the crew talked their way through surviving the Syndicate ambush.

Watching like this, the Boss noticed something in Kinzie's eyes he'd failed to recognize as a hardened war veteran. And as it were, the young Boss still had a difficult time discerning it until it came like a freight train.

Hope. There was hope in her eyes, hope that her Boss would come through and get everybody to safety, even if it meant risking his own life to do so.

The young Michael wanted to stay and watch her expressions as they fought, but a third door appeared behind him, and drawn towards it like the others, pressed the 'up' button on the elevator doors.

He stepped into the phantom elevator car, and after a few moments of an indescribable sensation, was spit out onto the deck of _The Gat_. Or more appropriately, the lounge. The area was darkened, but laughter was very audible over the movie - Dumb and Dumber.

Closer examination revealed that Kinzie was sitting by herself, a worried and ponderous look painting her mousy, yet charming features. If he was right, then this would be the day that they buried Shaundi, and after he looked out the window, found the metallic purple coffin floating about in the vacuum of space.

After he returned to the lounge, Kinzie was gone, off the find The Boss and talk to him about what was going on. All of the sudden death in his life, the loss of his two best friends, unknowing of the death that would follow.

It wasn't until the older Boss appeared in the lounge that a fourth door appeared behind him, this one an antique, ornate door. He wanted nothing more to stay, to watch his and Kinzies' relationship flower into one of passion and love. He wanted to relive that feeling _one more time_ , to accept her love, even if it was by proxy.

Sinking to his knees as the door loomed ominously, the Young Boss punched the floor, tears starting to leak from the corner of his eyes. _"It's not fair! I should be the one in that coffin; Hell, I should have taken the bullet for Johnny. Then none of this would have ever happened! Nobody would be dead besides me, anything so that my friends could live full lives! Damn it!"_

The Young Boss punched the ground again, but the door was having none of it as it sucked Michael in; a vortex that pulled the world around with it.

"He's not waking up. Should we just –"

A gentle, chiding slap. "Don't even think about it, Pierce."

"I was just thinking."

"Stop thinking. It's bad for your health."

"That's cold, woman."

Silence as the door opened and closed, then repeated the same action.

Shifting of a chair as it was pushed around.

A change in the sound; gentle, relaxed breathing. Feminine.

"…I'm sorry Boss. I…should've recognized that something was wrong with the continuum you used."

More sounds became clear as the voice stopped to gather its' thoughts. A gentle beep, the shift of blankets, and a low hum of what he guessed to be an air conditioner.

The voice picked up again, as a small hand slipped its' way between his fingers. _Wait, fingers?_

"But I can't do anything about that now. All any of us can do is just hope that you wake up. Please." The fingers tightened around his own. "Please Boss…just wake up so you can tell us what to do. J-just…" The voice became weak and shaky, likely because of tears.

"We all miss you righ…right now. We…I…I need you, Boss."

The voice went quiet, blocked by too many tears. He felt the hand shift and heard a body move as he suddenly felt what he suspected were lips against his forehead.

 _Okay, this doesn't make sense. I blew up a ship, myself with it. I was floating in God-Knows-Where for God-Knows-How-Long, and then a random bunch of doors show up and take me through memories. And now I guess I'm in a hospital with a woman holding my hand and kissing my forehead. What the hell is going on?!_

"B…Boss, please….wake up…"

He needed to say something, anything to tell his guest that he was there.

"Whe…where Kinn…"

The hand leaving his as he heard the chair clatter to the floor, the voice incredulous.

"Bo…Boss?!"

Unsure if he'd been clear, he asked again. "Where's…Where is…Kinzie…?"

"Do…don't move! I'll go get her!"

Get who? What…ugh, this was making his head hurt, as well as his eyes. And, speaking of eyes, he felt like they were absolutely coated in sand. He reached up scrubbed away at his eyes as the door hushed open and closed. He was still lost, but at least he could see.

A generic ceiling. White dropdown tiles, a basic strip halogen light watching over him. Turning his head left revealed a litany of machines. Heart rate monitor, blood pressure monitory, brain wave scanner, an IV drip with what he guess was saline solution.

 _A hospital,_ he gathered. _But where? It can't be Earth; that was totally destroyed. So…where am I?"_

He'd have to find out later as he turned his head to the door opening, surprised to see his favorite redhead standing next to his best friend the brunette, both women with tears in their eyes.

It was the redhead who hand both hands over her mouth, her eyes darting over him as though she didn't believe it. He actually made it, he'd survived that wound. But the coma…that coma had scared everybody. He wouldn't wake up for two months, and in that time, they'd found a colony located in a previously unknown solar system – Mercu Frei.

The indigenous population were peace anthropomorphic canines of all things, and they'd accepted the lone humans with open arms, offering them shelter and food for long as required. That had been two months previous, and had instantly requested a hospital setting for the injured boss, whose eyes wouldn't leave Kinzie.

She did move however, but with slow steps, as if any rough movements could scatter him like dust. Her hands had since left her mouth, but her eyes, her perfect green eyes remained wet with tears as she spoke first.

"Boss?" It was more a whisper than anything.

"W…water…" Shaundi moved to hand him a glass of cold water, but realizing how tired he was, instead supported him and aided his drinking. Once that was taken care of, and his throat stopped hurting, she gently lay him back against the pillows.

"Boss…you really survived…I don't…I don't believe…" Fresh tears took the place of ones shed, so he looked to Shaundi for an explanation. "Ex…ex…what's going on…Shaundi?"

She looked nearly as surprised as Kinzie did, but was quick to regain her composure.

"You remember the day we visited old Stilwater by time travel, right?"

He nodded.

"Well, the Vice Kings ambushed us on the way in. We had our guns, and Gat was doing some serious work. You shoulda seen him…woulda seen him if a bullet hadn't entered your skull."

Ah, so that explained the throbbing headache.

"It didn't penetrate the bone, but it knocked you flat on your ass and knocked you out stone cold for two months. We managed to find sentient life while you were out of commission, and we're guests on this planet, until we can find our own home."

He didn't realize it, but he'd been leaning into her story as she went on, and caught himself only when he felt he could move no further. He lay back into the pillow, feeling very weak. Naturally, he needed to look, and was upset by what he saw. He'd lost a good part of his muscle mass, and as a result, just looked skinny. Cut, but that athletic sort of look, as opposed to his muscular, strong build. He could only deduce that it was lack of use in the two months, but Kinzie explained anyway, coherent thought returned to her.

"Don't try to move, Boss. You've been asleep for a while, and your muscles have started to fade because of that. Nothing a little physical therapy won't fix." She then gave him a smile, a smile that told him, somehow, everything would be okay.

Seven months had passed by since his waking from the coma. He'd learned, through counseling, that what he'd seen; the death of his friends and relationship; had been a product of the bullet striking the part of the brain responsible for memory. The psychologist (A short corgi) concluded that his brain had produced the false images and time frame in order to save his psyche from complete and utter meltdown as wound such as his normally would.

Everybody was alive and well, more than happy to throw a party welcoming his return from the hospital. He'd had to go around to each and every one of them to touch them in one way or another, to assure himself that they were real and not dead. Kinzie explained for him what had transpired during his two month rest, and why he was acting the way he was.

He'd started dating Kinzie two days after being discharged from the hospital. It was actually in the hospital that he'd confessed his secret feelings towards her, and after quite an inappropriate amount of sex for a hospital, she'd admitted her feelings had been around for a long time. Their friends, on the other hand, were thankful.

"Took you two long enough."

"Geez, I was wondering if I needed to put you guys on my dating show."

"Awwwwwwwwww shit playa, get it in son!"

He'd also finally shared his true name with his friends, and after the initial shock wore off, they relaxed because he was relaxed, at last.

In the recent month, Michael learned that he was going to be a father after all his years of murder, combat, drugs, and sex. The prospect of dadhood was more than enough to keep him straight and clean, and he now spends his nights reading to his child through Kinzie's belly.

It took the Boss, Michael Young, so many years to finally understand what it meant to be happy, truly happy. That didn't come through killing or mindless sex.

He found that it came through love, joy and compassion; qualities he'd been lacking before his coma. But now…

But now, he wouldn't change it for the world.

* * *

 **Call bullshit if you want, but I wanted The Boss and Kinzie together, explosion be damned! In truth, I had the ending planned out for a while. So if you don't like it, you can go bury your head in a mine-filled beach and pray that the seagulls aren't total dicks. If you did like it, then hey! Thanks so much for all of your support! Kisses, kisses, buh bye for now!**


	11. Freedom (Alternate Ending)

Dead. Now…he was dead too. Michael was gone, gone so quickly that Kinzie didn't have a chance to kiss him one last time, to say good bye. She couldn't live without him, not after all they've been through. It was too much to leave him behind, and once their ship left hyper space, the redhead collapsed from her seat, sobbing uncontrollably.

Both King and Asha were at her side in an instant, each hand on her shoulders. Neither moved to hug, but instead, she sensed them kneel alongside her, and they too cried.

So much had happened in the past month – the deaths, the confession, the breaking simulation, the kiss – there was no way that it could've been real, right? She'd wake up tomorrow with everybody alive and well, the Boss shouting orders while the rest of the crew scrambled to fulfill their duties. Yeah, that's exactly what would happen. This dream was obviously a product of the recent sleep deprivation she'd been experiencing, and like all hallucinations, would simply go away once her body and brain caught up with the rest she so desperately needed.

Tears stopping, Kinzie got up from her hunched position and resumed her post at the command center. Asha and King, after staring at each other in disbelief, moved back to their positions, and didn't question when Kinzie took control of their mission.

"King, make sure we weren't followed by any rogue Zin ships. I'd rather not have a surprise in the middle of the night."

He nodded.

"Asha, you're our new navigator. I've seen you with technology, think you can figure out the nav systems?" The spy, in her new seat, pondered the controls a brief second before answering with her standard no-bullshit tone.

"Absolutely."

Turning to their resident AI, she pushed her glasses back up her nose, the spectacles having dropped a bit during her breakdown.

"CID, see what you can do about bringing weapons back online. I hate the idea of being defenseless in hostile space."

The AI bobbed a little as it moved from the bridge, and after the door opened, the little bot made its' merry way down to the storage arrays. It was going to check on everything that could have been damaged in their escape, not to mention scan for any potential computer viruses. Those would be devastating to a fully functional vessel, not to mention a crippled escort ship.

Kinzie, meanwhile, had taken to browsing the ships files, looking for anything related to rogue Zin cells that contained knowledge of computer viruses. That group had to have known they were vulnerable, but how? How could they have known that _The Gat_ 's defenses were weakened, without…there being a…mole?

There was no way anyone on this ship would betray another friend, and Kinzie dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. It wasn't in the Saints' blood to betray family, and that had even been true for her time with the FBI.

* * *

Family first. Blood second.

Her gang came first, there was no doubt about it. Family, real family, took a back burner to people who actually cared about her existence, instead of letting her live in her room for years. To those people who called her a hermit, didn't care if she showered, ate, lived. Those people had never been a family to her, and even when she was caught hacking into the Pentagon's supposedly-secure server, had _still_ ignored her.

She had been facing years of jail time for her crime against the United States, but there had been serious whispers among the FBI higher-ups. Some wanted her indicted, but others…others saw talent in the girl. They wanted her as an analyst, and with some serious coaxing from the FBI, the DoJ gave her up…conditionally.

While working there, she was to never have access to sensitive records, and she was always under watch while on shift. Kinzie never left his sight, and given those handsome hazel eyes, she often didn't mind.

She did mind, however, when he tried to take advantage of her presumed innocence. She put a quick stop to his groping of her body with a swift boot to the groin, and once again, found herself in trouble. He claimed to have seen her digging through files she wasn't supposed to, and he had gone as far to plant false trails back to her computer. It had almost gotten her arrested, but once again, skill triumphed cunning. Kinzie was able to prove the leads were false, and her attacker was let go silently.

And so Kinzie Kensington fell back into her work. Hacking, destroying, and analyzing countless foreign servers on a daily basis. She was the most feared hacker of her time, and wherever she went, a trail of digital destruction followed.

And when news of her existence broke on the darknet, its denizens decided to give her a name – B1ooD.

To this day, it's still the same name she used for her accounts, as it reminded her of those simpler, easier times.

 _Login?_

' _B-1-o-o-D'_

 _Password?_

 _Welcome back, Kinzie. What shall we destroy today?_

* * *

Blinking hard and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, the memory faded as King spoke up from his seat.

"Yo, we got three contacts pushing in on us. Formation matches standard Zin attack patterns, you want me to blow them apart?"

Kinzie swiveled in her chair, face a steely mask of determination. "Depends. CID, how many weapons have you fixed?"

The reply came swiftly through the intercom. "Approximately sixty-five percent captain- oh, one moment. Ah, seventy-five percent, actually. Repairs completed on forward cannons, rear cannons, and plasma launcher. Repairs nearly complete on The Kicker, will confirm when fully complete."

She nodded. "Good. King, move to weapon controls and use whatever you damn well please. Make sure they don't come knocking ever again."

"Sure thing, Boss."

Kinzie started – was she The Boss now? Did her friend and lover dying somehow promote her…to Leader of the Saints? If so…it was a job she'd never be able to fill. The title of Boss belonged to one man and one man alone, and he was certain to be there when she woke up tomorrow. Yeah, and then she could finally say that she was in love with him…! It would be perfect, and after this nightmare, she could do with some comfort.

Smiling to herself and in her own little world, she barely registered the dull _thump thump_ as King opened up on the first approaching rogue Zin ship. Naturally, it fired back, but all it could do was delay the inevitable, as it detonated in a silent show of fireworks and alien bodies.

This was true for the second ship as well, the firepower of _The Gat_ simply too much for the attack ships to take. It was poetry as the second went up in a display of colors and violent, mute explosions.

"Uh, Boss?" King sounded worried, which wasn't very characteristic of him.

"What is it, King?"

"I've lost the third contact."

"What do you mean, 'lost?' How could you possibly lose something that was on the radar not more than twenty second-"

A resounding _bang_ answered both questions, and any further discussion was silenced by a sudden klaxon going off next to Kinzie's ear.

"We've been boarded!" Thanks, Asha. Never would've known that if you hadn't been here and my computer wasn't practically screaming 'intrusion.'

"Fuck, fine!" Kinzie shouted over the cacophony of alarms, many of which warned of various system failures as their ship was sabotaged from the inside out…and there was nothing they could do about it. All of their guns were in storage, CID was very likely destroyed or captures, and still…nothing could be done. All the trio could do was sit and wait for the eventual take-over of the bridge.

Even Asha remained still, despite every fiber of her being wanting to fight. Hell, she probably _would_ fight once the Zin broke through the door, and the MI6 agent knew that doing so meant death.

She didn't care, and when the arc burn began to show through alien steel, the british woman prepared herself for the fight, and death.

 _Clang!_

Metal doors falling to the floor, followed by the sudden whine of plasma weapons. A whole firing squad, if the heat and smoke were any indication. The Zin weren't taking chances, and any damaged system could be repaired.

The same couldn't be said for Asha and Ben, the Saints falling to impossible shots. Bloodless holes in their chests, dead before they hit the steel.

Kinzie had been out of the way, remaining defiant in her chair. She kept this up until the largest Zin approached her, and lifted her by the neck. Even with her legs dangling in the air, she didn't once break eye-contact with it.

"Defiant to the end, human. I like that."

A flex of its powerful muscles later, Kinzie's legs went still.

* * *

 _"Mankind - that word should have new meaning for all of us today._

 _We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore._

 _We will be united in our common interests._

 _Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution - but from annihilation._

 _We're fighting for our right to live, to exist._

 _And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:_

 _"We will not go quietly into the night!_

 _We will not vanish without a fight!_

 _We're going to live on!_

 _We're going to survive!_

 _Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"_


End file.
